The cost of promoting the wrong people

In one organisation where I was consulting, a technically strong and deeply loyal employee was promoted to lead the business. However, once in the role, he struggled to provide direction, shape strategy, or manage people effectively. He remained heavily execution-focussed, trying to do the work himself rather than leading through others. His limited empathy towards team members became visible in the body language and morale of the core team. Over time, several talented employees left, and the function began to decline across key performance parameters.

This pattern is not new in corporate life. It reflects the Peter Principle: people are often promoted based on success in their current role rather than suitability for the next one. Gallup has repeatedly highlighted the scale of this problem. According to its research, one of the most important decisions organisations make is choosing who becomes a manager, yet companies often get it wrong. In fact, Gallup has long maintained that organisations fail to select the candidate with the right managerial talent 82% of the time.

The right fit

This brings to mind an African proverb: “When a goat is given the position of a cow, it will not give milk, but it will surely ruin the farm.” The message is blunt but relevant: when an individual who is ill-suited for a position of authority is placed in power, the consequences are rarely neutral. Even if the person is not malicious, lack of judgment, leadership maturity, or people skills can still damage teams, culture, and performance.

1. Build a culture rooted in transparency, open communication, and meritocracy. Without this foundation, leadership decisions often remain driven by comfort, loyalty, or politics rather than capability.

2. Create a clear growth path for employees, from entry-level roles to senior leadership. People should know what skills, behaviours, and results are required at each stage.

3. Assess business acumen and people-management capability objectively. Not everyone is meant to manage people, and not everyone develops strategic instinct at the same pace. Organisations need defined traits, development plans, and fair assessment mechanisms.

4. Design feedback systems that are genuinely credible. In many organisations, 360-degree feedback is weakened by bias, reciprocity, envy, or box-ticking. Unless it becomes more rigorous and honest, it cannot support better promotion decisions.

My suggestion is modest but important: this problem cannot be solved through cosmetic reform. Many senior executives have themselves risen through the same flawed system, so meaningful change will take time. But organisations must begin moving in the right direction with genuine intent. If Gallup has been repeating this warning for more than a decade, it is because the issue remains deeply embedded. The goal should be to move away from a system where incompetence continues to reward and reproduce incompetence.

(The writer is the author of Building Blocks: Lessons on leadership that I’ve learnt on my journey, and the founder of Prajna Consulting, a boutique consulting firm. Views are personal.)